Mount Pleasant High School (Mount Pleasant, NC), NCHSAA 2A, 2017-18 record: 17-10 (7-3 In Conference) (P.S. 3rd most wins in school history)
I made my way over to Mount Pleasant High School on Wednesday night to watch them at their open gym and walked away thoroughly impressed with the direction of their young program. They feature a unique blend of size and skill that should have them slotted in as a team that can make some serious noise in the NCHSAA 2A classification. Let's take a look at their roster!
The Two Young Faces
Both 6'7 2022 Shane Fernald and 6'8 2021 Hunter Sloop are HoopState stars in the making and it's easy to see why. Sloop is coming off a really nice summer with Team Loaded and possesses an excellent shooting stroke from beyond the arc to go with his high motor, and ever adapting skill-set. Sloop will likely be the most productive piece for Mt Pleasant this season simply due to his incredible fundamentals on both ends of the court, always boxing out and securing rebounds, while being a true triple level scorer that can take advantage of mismatches in different ways. Sloop should be considered a bonafide Division One Prospect at this point in time, he will definitely accrue some serious interest in the coming years is he continues on the track he is currently on. Fernald is an incredibly intriguing young player due to his rare blend of size, skill, motor, and IQ. He had a really good summer with an absolutely loaded CP3 2022 group and is probably the best prospect for this really talented Mt Pleasant team. At the tender age of 14, Fernald can initiate offense, play both roles in the pick and roll, defend 3-4 positions, and has shown the ability to be the vocal leader of a team despite being the youngest kid in the gym, all of these make Fernald and incredibly intriguing player to follow moving forward. He's another bonafide Division One Prospect that has a chance to be a top ten kid in the state in his class if he continues to develop that crazy skillset along with his body.
The Impact Transfer
6'1 2020 Keim Moore made the move to Mount Pleasant from nearby Concord and it looks like he's going to have an opportunity to run this talented squad as the featured lead guard. He possesses a lighting quick handle and shiftiness that had defenders shaken out of their shoes. He excels in balls screens which really bodes well for Fernald and Sloop due to their ability to work in the screen game. When Moore gets downhill, he's likely finishing with some english at the cup or finding either Fernald or Sloop on the perimeter for an open 3 or an easy finish at the cup. He's an electric player that will bring this team a really exciting wrinkle on the offensive end. Moore feels like a bonafide scholarship prospect at this point in time, his stock will only continue to rise as he develops his body in the coming year or so.
Other Contributors
6'0 2019 Bryson Efird: Knockdown shooter, high IQ, definitely a kid that will have his share of big games for this team. Can be a secondary ball handler if you need him to be. D3s should take a look.
5'10 2022 Brady Duke: Another lethal threat from deep that should have a really nice high school career with this current group in place for the coming years.
6'9 2019 Ryan Bonnett: Provides another big body for the front court that might be the teams leading rebounder this year. Can definitely play at the next level if he decides to go that route.
6'8 2021 Jamal Williams: A borderline JV/Varsity kid, super young for his grade and a size 17 shoe so he's probably not done growing. A ton of tools yet still super raw, but definitely one to keep an eye on.
5'11 2019 Tucker Meade: Provides great backcourt depth, a really pesky defender that can make some outside shots when needed.
6'5 2019 Brandon Smith: Another great piece simply due to size and defensive versatility, going to give you a ton of effort and production. A 10 Point, 6 Rebound, 3 Assist kind of kid.
5'11 2021 Jacob Price: Competing for a starting spot on varsity as a sophomore, another perimeter threat that can really create offense for himself and others.